Oh, What a Night!

If I had to sum up my day in New York, the word magical comes to mind!

I had a wonderful, albeit brief, time in NYC. Spent the day with the lovely and talented Joseph Legaspi.

We had a FABU lunch at The Little Owl. And the building above, I'm told, was used as the exterior apartment shot from the show Friends.

I loved it so much I wanted to marry it.

Went to the High Line, an outdoor elevated park (more on that in a separate post).

And then the reading. Well, first the dress!

These pictures don't do Bryant Park justice. Just knowing that this space exists in NYC makes me happy. I read at the Reading Room, which is an outdoor space where you can plop yourself down and read a book—an outdoor library of sorts.

Teresa Carson was the driving force behind the event.

Joan Cusack Handler, poet and CavanKerry founder.

This park is an oasis in midtown Manhattan. We had a nice crowd at the event, but I can't tell you how many people would stop for a minute, or two, or five, to listen to a little poetry. Every once in a while, a roaring engine or siren passed by, reminding me that this is an urban oasis. It was poetry in the most public of places. Yet, it all felt very real. Interactive—maybe that's the word I'm searching for.

The venue was truly inspiring, so much so, I felt my reading had to rise to the occasion. The night completely surpassed my expectations.

It was one of those nights I feel every poet should have, a few glorious moments to be tucked away for those days when we're filled of doubts, or we've opened one rejection letter too many. The whole event reminded me that there are people who really do appreciate poetry, and give it the space that reflects that appreciation. The Bryant Park Reading Room is one of those spaces.

The stars aligned. The rain stayed away. It was a magical night for poetry.